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Chapter 1000: Umbridge’s Punishment
🕑 Added 2024-01-29 04:45:40 +0000 UTCThey didn’t feel complacent for long. Soon, Professor McGonagall and Snape rushed over.
Professor McGonagall merely waved her wand and undid Evan's Transfiguration, but perhaps intentionally, she didn't lift the spell on Umbridge. Instead, like the others, she went up and stomped hard on Umbridge's foot, and Dolores hurriedly retreated.
Then, with Hermione's reminder, and looking as though surprised, she changed her back.
"Dolores, I didn't realize it was you!" Professor McGonagall said with pursed lips. "I thought it was just a toad."
Umbridge's body was in a very messy state, covered with dirt and dust, and her face was green. The tweed cloak was full of footprints, and the whole person's mental state was not very good. After all, she’d been turned into a toad and was trampled and kicked around under the feet of so many people.
Her body was shaking uncontrollably. No matter who it was, no one could accept such a nightmarish experience.
This was simply humiliating. The Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic had probably never dreamed of such an experience in her life.
She panted violently, her chest heaving up and down, and she glared at Evan with resentment.
"Evan Mason, how dare you do this?!"
"Sorry, Professor, I just wanted to stop them from fighting, you know, it was a mistake. You happened to run in, and I hadn't fully mastered this magic. This Transfiguration is too difficult, not something a fourth-year student can handle."
"Yes, this is a level that only NEWTs students can master," Professor McGonagall agreed. "It's not easy for Evan to achieve this now, although it's untimely, I have to give Gryffindor ten points for his performance. As the Transfiguration Professor, I am proud to see lower-level students mastering this magic."
“Minerva, He did it on purpose!" Umbridge said angrily.
"No, you completely misunderstood me, Professor. I just wanted to change you back, but you know, you kept jumping around, and the target was so small, it wasn't easy to aim. I tried several times and didn't succeed."
If Umbridge hadn't been hopping around just now, she might have been trampled to death by them!
Despite this, she was still almost trampled to death. Apart from Malfoy, she was the most seriously injured on the scene.
"Absurd, he should be expelled..."
"I've never seen someone punished for stopping a fight. Expulsion is absurd," Professor McGonagall retorted, then muttered in a low voice, "Who can be blamed for recklessly rushing in?!"
Umbridge was furious and was about to say something when Snape interrupted.
"Now is not the time to worry about Mason's magic level," he reminded. "This bad fight..."
"Oh, yes!" Professor McGonagall ignored Umbridge; she turned and looked at Harry, Fred and George and said seriously, "I have never seen behavior like it. Three onto one, it is really a disgraceful exhibition."
“Malfoy provoked us,” said Harry stiffly.
Malfoy, lying on the ground, tried to respond but only managed a few grunts.
Snape forcefully waved his wand, conjuring a stretcher for the Slytherin students to lift Malfoy onto.
"I look forward to your handling of this matter, Minerva!" he said, glancing at Umbridge and then turned, taking Malfoy and some more seriously injured students back to the castle, not waiting for the resolution of the incident.
Because Umbridge was involved, Snape had no intention of engaging in internal conflicts at the moment.
Of course, he had his own ways; one could imagine Harry's upcoming grades in Potions...
"Disappointing, Potter! He’d just lost, hadn’t he, of course he wanted to provoke you! Don't you even understand that? But what on earth he can have said to make you three decide to showcase Muggle-style brawling..."
“He insulted my parents," snarled George. "And Harry's mother."
People around expressed agreement; and many had gathered to figure out what had happened.
Professor McGonagall needed to handle this quickly; she had to give them detention and deduct points.
"All right, I've got a rough idea of what happened. You three had better listen closely. I do not care what provocation Malfoy offered you, I do not care if he insulted every family member you possess, your behavior was disgusting and I am giving each of you a week’s worth of detention! Do not look at me like that, Potter, you deserve it! And if either of you ever..."
“Hem, hem!"
After a brief loss of composure, Umbridge's face bore a sinister smile again.
"This punishment is too light, Minerva, I think we need a little extra authority now!" she said in her most poisonously sweet voice.
"I'm sorry; I don't understand what you mean." Blood rushed into Professor McGonagall’s face.
"I mean, they deserve rather more than detentions," said Umbridge.
Professor McGonagall’s eyes flew open. “But unfortunately,” she said, with an attempt at a reciprocal smile that made her look as though she had lockjaw, “it is what I think that counts, as they are in my House, Dolores!"
"But according to the ‘Educational Decree Number Twenty-five,’ I have the authority to modify your punishment suggestions and have the final decision-making power, so what I think does count," Umbridge said with a smile and glanced at Evan. "I really think I will have to ban these three from playing Quidditch ever again. This sport is not suitable for them."
"Ban us?" Harry was momentarily stunned, and his voice sounded strangely distant. “From playing Quidditch ever again?!"
“Yes, Mr. Potter, I think a lifelong ban ought to do the trick,” said Umbridge, her smile widening still further. "For the safety of other players, you really shouldn't be playing Quidditch. In the meantime, I will want your broomsticks confiscated, of course; I shall keep them safely in my office, to make sure there is no infringement of my ban. I heard that these two black broomsticks were made by Mr. Mason, and I recommend banning students from using such privately and illegally assembled brooms because they haven't been certified by the Ministry of Magic, undoubtedly posing a significant danger. So, you should hand them all over to me, including the ones in your hands.”
"You can't..."
"I can, this is the authority given to me by the Ministry of Magic," she turned around and said to Professor McGonagall, who was now standing as still as though carved from ice, staring at her. “The rest of the team can continue playing; I saw no signs of violence from any of them. But Mr. Mason undoubtedly possesses too much magic, much of which far exceeds what he should have learned at his current age, easily leading to accidents, as we just witnessed. While I don't mind, I think he should surrender his wand until he can learn to control his power."
